CSU & Coastal Tab Big South Wins; Campbell Sweeps Non-League Foes

Meredith Parrott's service ace quelled a Winthrop rally in the fifth set as Charleston Southern topped the Eagles in Big South action in five sets on Saturday afternoon at the Buccaneer Field House, 25-14, 25-23, 15-25, 18-25, 15-11.

Sydney Tracy led all players with 17 kills in the match, hitting .444 from the floor and added five service aces and seven digs as Charleston Southern (6-11, 1-1 BSC) overcame a Winthrop rally (7-9, 1-1 BSC) to hold on for their first conference victory of the season.

Winthrop opened up the match, winning four of the first five points in the opening set as Carolyn Weed, AmyZimmer and Kristin Cruse all recorded kills to stake the Eagles to the 4-1 advantage. Three consecutive kills by Tracy evened the score and a pair of WU attack errors put Charleston Southern in the driver's seat in the set as Charleston Southern went on a 10-1 run, with Tracy adding three service aces to the mix in going as Charleston Southern went up 11-5.

Charleston Southern built a double-digit lead, going up 21-11 on a kill by Kayla Klinger and Wynter Davis closed out the set with a kill and a solo block to give the Lady Bucs the 1-0 lead with the 25-14 set victory.

In the second set, the teams battled back and forth with neither team able to build more than a two-point advantage until Winthrop went up 19-16 following a CSU ball-handling error. Charleston Southern came roaring back on Siraya Windsor's serve, rattling off six consecutive points in taking advantage of a pair of Tracy kills, as well as three WU attack errors to build a 22-19 lead. Winthrop cut the lead down to one at 24-23 following a Jennica Mullins kill and a CSU attack error, but the Lady Bucs recorded the final point of the match when Rachel Lenz's attack went wide to give Charleston Southern the 2-0 lead.

Winthrop came out of the break in the third set, scoring eight of the first 11 and 12 of the first 16 points in the frame in building the 12-4 lead on a CSU service error. The lead reached eight 16-8 on a Charleston Southern ball-handling error and went to double-digits at 24-14 following a block by Mullins and Stephanie Parker as Winthrop closed out the 25-15 set victory on a Lenz kill to send the match into a fourth set.

A 4-0 run gave Winthrop the 12-9 lead into the frame following a Mullins kill and the Eagles continued to build on their lead, scoring six of the next nine points to take a 19-12 lead following another CSU ball-handling error. Charleston Southern rallied back from the deficit, taking game all the way back to within four points at 22-18 as Davis drove home a kill off the assist from Kirsten Struksnes, but a block by Cruse and Mullins sparked a 3-0 run for the Eagles as the teams were sent into the deciding fifth frame of the match.

Windsor put the first point on the board in the frame with a kill, but Mullins answered as the teams battled in the final set of the match. A 3-0 run sparked by a Cruse kill and capped off by a block by Mullins and Weed gave Winthrop the 8-6 lead at the changeover in the set, but Charleston Southern responded with kills by Parrott and Tracy to take the 9-8 lead. Palmer ended the CSU run with a kill as Winthrop went up 11-10 following Zimmer's point, but a service error swung the ball back to Charleston Southern with the score tied at 11-all.

A WU attack error pushed CSU ahead and Klinger doubled Charleston Southern's lead to 13-11. Following a bad set, which pushed the Lady Bucs to the brink, Parrott placed in the final point with a service ace down the left line to give Charleston Southern the 3-2 victory.

Struksnes recorded a season-high 53 set assists in the match and completed the double-double with 10 digs as she directed the Charleston Southern offense to hit .283 from the floor in the match. Windsor also picked up a double-double in the game with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Davis continued to have the hot hand on the week, picking up 13 kills while hitting .385 and added four blocks in the match.

Klinger led all players defensive with 17 digs in the match, while Ashley Higginbothem added 12 of her own as CSU recorded as season-high 65 digs over the five sets in the win.

Charleston Southern remains in Big South Conference play as the Lady Bucs take to the road next weekend, opening their conference weekend at Buies Creek, N.C. on Friday, September 28th, against Campbell University. First serve between the Buccaneers and the Fighting Camels is set for 7 p.m. The Eagles will return home on Friday when they host Presbyterian in a 7 p.m. contest which starts a five-match home stretch.

The Coastal Carolina volleyball team picked up its first win inside The HTC Center with a 3-2 victory over Big South Conference foe Presbyterian College. The Chants were led by junior Kindra Bailey who had just five kills but provided points with five service aces and a career-high nine blocks including three solo.

The Chants improved to 3-8 on the season and evened out their Big South record to 1-1. The Blue Hose fell to 4-13 and 1-1 in the Big South.

Junior Meghan Laffin added a team-high 13 kills with just one error for a team-high .353 attack percentage. She also had two service aces and five digs. Freshman Eszter Nagy chipped in eight kills and five blocks including three solo. Sophomore Katie Martin had seven kills and four block assists.

The Chants used a 16-6 advantage in blocks and a .227 to .182 advantage in attack percentage to take the match.

Junior Lauren Alejo dished out 36 assists while digging up six balls. Sophomore Jenna Orner had 19 digs while playing all five sets as the libero while junior Sam Skryd added 14.

CCU fell in the opening set 26-24 before winning the second set 25-16. The Blue Hose took set three 25-18 but it was the Chants who responded with a 25-19 fourth set victory and then a 15-11 match-clinching fifth set win.

The first set was back-and-forth almost the entire period. The Blue Hose were able to build a six-point lead midway through the period with a 7-1 run to take a 18-12 advantage. The Chants patiently reeled them in and eventually tied the set on a service ace by Bailey to make the score 22-22. A kill by the Blue Hose and an attack error by the Chants gave Presbyterian its first set point of the day at 24-22. A kill from Nagy and an attack error by the Blue Hose once again tied the set this time at 24. Back-to-back kills by PC ended the set 26-24.

The second set was again back-and-forth in the opening minutes but a 5-0 run midway through the set gave the Chants a 15-10 lead. Two kills from Laffin, a service ace from Skryd and a pair of attack errors by the Blue Hose powered the run. CCU would eventually stretch its lead out to nine at the 21-12 mark of the period. The Chants and Blue Hose split the remaining eight points with Nagy drilling a ball to end the set 25-16.

The Blue Hose came storming out of the gates in the third set taking a quick 8-2 lead. The Chants fought their way back into the set eventually cutting the lead to just two at 16-14 but the Blue Hose responded with a 4-0 run to re-open a six-point advantage. Presbyterian would hold off the Chants late in the set taking a 25-18 victory.

The fourth set looked much like the opening two sets with both teams trading points in the early going. With the set tied at nine the Chants began a 8-3 run to open up a 17-12. The Blue Hose responded with back-to-back points to cut the lead to three but a kill by Bailey and a pair of attack errors re-opened the lead for the Chants. CCU would hold that lead the rest of the way taking a 25-19 victory.

With the score tied 5-5 in the fifth and deciding set a small 4-0 run proved to be the difference as the Chants used a kill from Bailey, a kill from sophomore Taylor Stafford, a block by Bailey and Martin and an attack error from the Blue Hose to open up a 9-5 lead. The Blue Hose were able to cut the lead to two but that would be as close as they would get as the Chants held on for a 15-11 victory as Alejo provided the last kill of the match off an assist from senior Samantha Palka.

The Chanticleers will return to action Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. as they travel to Big South Conference foe High Point. PC is next in action Friday, Sept. 28, as the Blue Hose travel to Winthrop for a 7 p.m. match.

The Campbell volleyball team posted 40 kills and hit at a .312 rate in a sweep, 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-22), of North Carolina Central on Saturday afternoon at Gore Arena. Sophomore right side Lorin Thomas paced the offensive attack with a career-best .600 hitting pct., which notching a season-high 10 kills on just one mistake.

The Camels have two matches on the day with a meeting with North Carolina A&T at 3 p.m. Fans can follow the action with live stats and subscription-based video on the Big South Sports Network via links on the volleyball schedule page.

The Camels posted seven service aces during the contest as Coats, Layden and freshman middle blocker Sam Zuber each registered two.

Sophomore libero Lauren Bewick led the back row with a match-high 18 digs. The Camels out-dug their opponent, 37-36, for the second-consecutive match.

At the net, senior middle blocker Kelsey Marek and Layden each posted match-highs with four blocks. Layden recorded her first career solo block for the Camels.

N.C. Central was led by Christine Anthony, who notched a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs. Rabell Pineiro dished out a match-high 29 digs, while Christine Anthony dug up 12 attacks.

In the first set, the Camels started strong with freshman libero Lauren Bewick aiding a 5-1 rally on kills from Wilson (2) and Layden and a block from Coats/Layden, 6-2. A kill by Wilson opened a seven-point advantage, 17-10.

The Eagles mounted a comeback that came up short as Wilson notched back-to-back kills to seal the 25-20 win. Wilson totaled six kills on seven attempts as the Camels combined for 16 kills as a team and hit at a .220 rate.

The offense clicked on all cylinders in the second frame as it totaled 10 kills on 19 swings without a mistake, while the defense was 11-14 (78%) on side out chances. Coats was the main threat and tallied four kills in the 25-12 victory to claim a 2-0 lead in the match.Coming out of the break, N.C. Central fought point-for-point with Campbell before a four-point rally with Groen on the service line opened a 12-6 advantage. Groen and Thomas along with a block from Marek/Layden aided the run.

The response by the Eagles was swift as they rallied to knot the contest at 13, where the teams continued battling for each point.

At 23-21, the Camels used an opponent's mistake and a decisive kill from Groen to close out the match, 25-22. The duo of Thomas and Groen on the outside notched nine of the team's 14 kills.

The Campbell volleyball team finished off the Saturday doubleheader sweep at Gore Arena with a 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 25-18, 18-25, 15-9) victory over North Carolina A&T. Freshman Sam Zuber was the star of the match generating a match-high 14 kills and six aces, while adding six digs in her first contest swinging from the outside.

Campbell (7-11) took the second and third frames after falling in the first set, but the Aggies fought back to send the match to a decisive fifth set. The Camels would post eight kills and a .412 hitting pct., en route to a 15-11 victory in the final frame to secure the match.

Also hitting double-digits in kills was sophomore outside Jessica Groen with 12, while compiling a .321 attacking pct. The team drilled 51 kills in the match and posted a .237 hitting pct.

Running the offense was junior setter Heather Wilson with a season-high 44 assists.

The Camels recorded a season-high 12 service aces led by Zuber with a career-best six. Campbell out-blocked the Aggies, 7-to-2, and was led by Thomas with five, including a personal-best two solo.

The defensive back row was paced by sophomore libero Mallorie Cubillos and freshman Renatta Laport with 23 and 12 digs, respectively. Zuber, Wilson and junior Chelsey Pachoud each contributed at least five digs.

Going off the momentum from a sweep of North Carolina Central earlier in the afternoon, the Camels started strong and built a 10-6 advantage on a block by Zuber/Thomas. The Aggies would not go down without a fight and Aleena McDaniel began a 6-1 run that vaulted them into the lead 18-17.

North Carolina A&T would hold onto the advantage and secure a 25-23 victory. The Camels came within one point late in the frame a 22-23 and 24-23, but were unable to rally into the lead. Zuber posted five kills in the set for Campbell.

The second frame went back and forth as Laport and Zuber had long rallies from the service, but they were equaled by Samnes and Williams as the match was tied at 11-all.

Dealing with a 21-18 deficit, Kelley stepped to the service line and registered an ace before Coats put down an attack to come within one.

The Camels would go on a 4-1 run to knot the match at 24-all, and a couple of Aggie mistakes provided Campbell with a 26-24 win to deadlock that match at 1-1. The team posted a 12 kills on just one mistake during the frame.

After the intermission, Campbell rallied to a 13-5 lead on the strong service of Wilson. Four-straight kills by the Camel hitters - Groen (2) and Thomas (2) - sparked the rally. The Camels would go on to take a 2-1 lead in the set with a 25-18 victory.

North Carolina A&T seeking its first win of the season saw Chelsea Fox and April McCrae aid the visitors to a large 17-8 advantage. The Aggies never looked back in sending the match to the fifth set, 25-18.

The fifth frame was all-square thru the first 10 rallies until Laport served up an ace and Groen notched two kills to catapult the Camels into the lead 9-5. Campbell would close out the match on a Zuber kill, 15-9.

Campbell returns to its Big South schedule on Friday with a 7 p.m. match against Charleston Southern at the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center. Coastal Carolina battles the Camels on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. to wrap up the weekend.